Swedbank Adopts Poseidon Principles
Swedbank has signed the Poseidon Principles, a global framework for integrating climate considerations into lending decisions within ship financeThe Poseidon Principles provide a standardised methodology for data collection and reporting of emissions from banks’ shipping portfolios, with the overall ambition of supporting and facilitating the decarbonization of the shipping industry.The Poseidon Principles are consistent with the policies and ambitions of the IMO, including its…
Brent Crude Soars to $139 a Barrel as U.S., Europe Mull Russian Oil Import Ban
Oil prices spiked to their highest levels since 2008 on Monday as the United States and European allies weighed a Russian oil import ban and delays in the potential return of Iranian crude to global markets fuelled supply fears.In the first few minutes of trade Brent crude reached $139.13 and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) hit $130.50, both benchmarks striking their highest levels since July 2008.By 1017 GMT, prices had lost some of those gains, with Brent up $6.60, or 5.6%…
Tanker Operators File Against Winson Oil in Latest Hin Leong Fallout
Maersk Tankers Singapore Pte Ltd and Scorpio LR2 Pool Ltd have filed separate claims in the Singapore High Court against Winson Oil Trading Pte Ltd for failing to fulfil its contractual obligations, court documents show.The filings are the latest fallout in the unravelling of Hin Leong—once one of Asia's top oil traders—which has left creditors scrambling to recoup about $3.5 billion in debt.Hin Leong's collapse has triggered competing claims for cargoes and assets and ensnared…
Singapore Court Appoints Supervisor for Xihe Holdings
The Singapore High Court has appointed Grant Thornton Singapore as the supervisor of Xihe Holdings Pte Ltd and four of its subsidiaries, a source with knowledge of the matter said on Thursday.The court decision followed an application by Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Ltd (OCBC) to place Xihe Holdings and the subsidiaries under the business adviser's supervision.The subsidiaries involved are Da Xin Tankers (Pte) Ltd, Hua Guang Shipping Pte Ltd, Nan King Maritime (Pte) Ltd and Hua Xin Shipping Pte Ltd and these units together own five ships.Xihe Holdings is part of the Lim family business empire, which also includes oil trader Hin Leong Trading and fleet manager Ocean Tankers (Pte) Ltd…
Hin Leong's Owners Move to Block OCBC from Picking at Shipping Units
The family that owns beleaguered Singaporean oil trader Hin Leong Trading (HLT) is seeking to block creditor OCBC's request to appoint overseers for the family's Xihe Holdings and four other subsidiaries to recoup its debt.Oversea Chinese Banking Corp (OCBC) applied last week for the Singapore High Court to appoint judicial managers over Xihe, owned by the family of Hin Leong founder Lim Oon Kuin, known as O.K. Lim.Kenny Lim Oon Cheng, Xihe Holdings interim chief executive, said…
Vista Shipping to Finance Product Tankers
Hafnia Tankers, a member of BW Group, and shipyard-affiliated leasing company CSSC (Hong Kong) Shipping have formed a joint venture named Vista Shipping to finance and operate product tankers.A term loan facility of USD 111 million is intended to be used to finance four LR1 newbuildings. A banking consortium consisting of KfW IPEX-Bank, Societe Generale Hong Kong Branch and OCBC Singapore participate with 33% each as lenders at the term loan facility and have reached financial close.KfW IPEX-Bank acts as Facility Agent, Sinosure Agent and Security Agent. The 12-year post-delivery financing profits from Sinosure cover and is secured by…
Baltic Exchange Launches Escrow Service for Vessel Sales
The Baltic Exchange announced it will launch an Escrow Service for its members to hold deposits for ship sale transactions.The paid-for service will be available from May 2018 for use in transactions where the buyer of the vessel is a Baltic Exchange member. The service will cost $5,000 per side and is likely to be extended to disputes related payments, the Baltic Exchange said.The Escrow Service will be run by the Baltic Exchange's Asia office in Singapore and will be subject to the Singapore Exchange's (SGX) compliance and money laundering procedures.
CMA CGM Acquisition NOL: Aprroval Expected by Mid-2016
CMA CGM acquisition target Neptune Orient Lines (NOL) has made all necessary anti-trust filings and expect that the approvals will come sometime in the middle of 2016. NOL group president and chief executive Ng Yat Chung said NOL, which is being bought out by French shipping giant CMA CGM for $2.4bn, has made all necessary anti-trust filings. On 7 December 2015, CMA CGM S.A. announced a pre-conditional voluntary cash offer to acquire NOL at SGD1.30 per NOL share. The offer was subject to anti-trust clearances from the European Union, China and the US. According to Ng, the $2.4bn acquisition was still expected to be approved by the relevant regulatory bodies by mid-2016…
EMAS Offshore Launches Singapore Listing
EMAS Offshore boosts profile amongst international investment community by providing Asian platform for growth; Singapore public offer opens at 6.00 p.m. today and closes at 12.00 noon on 2 Oct 2014. EMAS Offshore Limited (“EMAS Offshore”, or the “Group”), formerly known as EOC Limited (“EOC”), is pleased to announce the launch of its public offering of shares following the registration of its prospectus (the “Prospectus”) with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (“MAS”), in…
Yangzijiang Shipbuilding 1Q13 Net Profit Down 30%
Yangzijiang Shipbuilding (YZJ) reported a 22% YoY fall in revenue to RMB2.9b and a 30% drop in net profit to RMB717.2m in 1Q13, accounting for 24% and 26% of our full year estimates, respectively, according to OCBC Investment Research. YZJ delivered only nine vessels in 1Q13, compared to 15 in 1Q12. OCBC noted though that gross profit margin from the shipyard operations remained healthy at 25.9% vs. 26.4% in 1Q12 and 24.1% in 4Q12. Still, the group entered eight new shipbuilding contracts totaling $237 million recently, bringing its current order book to $3.31 billion.
NOL To Raise $300M
Singapore's Neptune Orient Lines Ltd. launched an issue of seven-year notes totaling $300 million after setting up a $1 billion medium-term note (MTN) program for up to 10 years. The shipping group, which owns container group APL, said in a statement the funds raised would be used for expansion and to refinance existing borrowings. The issue, with a coupon of 4.09 percent per year, is arranged by OCBC Bank, Overseas Union Bank, Societe Generale Asia (Singapore) Ltd and Standard Chartered Bank. "The arrangement not only meets our current requirements, it allows us to access further funds sometime in the future if we choose," said Lim How Teck, NOL's chief financial officer. "We consider this is good timing because interest rates are currently very low.
SembCorp Shares Fall Short of Market Expectations
Shares of Singapore infrastructure conglomerate SembCorp Industries fell as much as 4.22 percent on Thursday after its half-year core performance came in below market expectations. SembCorp was down six cents at S$1.60 after hitting a low of S$1.59. Volume was more than 1.1 million shares. But analysts said the downside could be limited as investors were keen on the company's infrastructure businesses. The stock had climbed in the past few days in anticipation of good results. Shares in SembCorp, which is more than 50 percent owned by the Singapore government, have outperformed the broader Straits Times Index by 12 percent this year, while falling about five percent in absolute terms since the beginning of 2001. "The core operating performance was below expectations.
